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Gen Xers Resent Co-Workers With Kids

It seems that a lot of Gen Xers are upset that co-workers with kids always gets to sneak out early for "parent teacher conferences" or "pediatrician appointments." But part of the tension may be because they're having less kids than previous generations!

There’s intra-generational workplace tension plaguing Generation Xers -- those ages 33-46 -- between those with children and those without, says Sylvia Ann Hewlett in ForbesWoman.

Citing her study in the Center for Work-Life Policy, Hewlett said “61 percent of childless Xer women and 40 percent of Xer men feel that their colleagues with children are given more latitude with flexible work arrangements.” Additionally, Hewlett said “43 percent of Gen X women and nearly a third (32 percent) of Xer men do not have children.”

She said this is “a conscious intentional decision” to focus on things other than having children. “A sizable number of both women and men in their prime reproductive years – mostly Xers – say they would not care if they never had children,” she wrote.